December 17, 2009

Aw, the memories

I wrote a newspaper article yesterday. Not a real one, just one for a class. And boy was it fun! No seriously, it was. I forgot how much I liked doing that! Not that I miss it, I rarely think about it because I'm so infatuated with my current area of study, but as I was writing it, the words just flowed. They literally went from vague thoughts in my mind, down through my arms out my fingers and somehow managed to make the keyboard go "click" in the right spots. And it was beautiful. I barely had to go over it again. Not even for spelling. Gosh, and could you believe it, it was on the same subject as my research paper. Writing that was about as near to pulling teeth as I've come. Ew.

And for your enjoyment, click here to access Lewis & Clark's student newspaper, to which I once belonged as a regular writer and editor (before I fled the fair city of Portland without a second glance). I was there for the school year of 2006-2007, and start writing in the October 20th issue.

December 1, 2009

DECEMBER IS HERE!

Never in my life have I been so excited for this month!

-My PAPER is due in 2 days

-LAST day of class is in 9 days

-FINAL final is 17 days

-I go HOME in 18 days

-CHRISTMAS is in 25 days

-The greatest BOY in the world visits in 25 days

-The GERMAN comes in 28 days

Always something to look forward to...

November 14, 2009

Living day-to-day

Despite how much I complain about stuffff, I find that I'm pretty good at living day-to-day. What bothered me the day before generally doesn't bother me the next day. If I'm upset about something, it's usually something new. I have a lot of trouble waking up in the morning and holding a grudge on Northeastern IT services or Boytoy or my computer-breaking-cat or personal statements.

So since I have that covered (which I feel is a pretty big accoplishment), the next step would be to not let things get to me to begin with.

I was once told I complain too much. I've been working hard on stopping that. Truly, I have.

November 13, 2009

Being dramatic and hormonal

Sometimes I wish the 2012 conspiracy was true. Then I wouldn't have to worry about my future. And I could witness some sweet natural disasters.

November 10, 2009

Can't grades just speak for themselves?

If my whole life wasn't depending on it, my personal statement would look something like this (keep in mind, they all pretty much ask the same thing...but they want it in essay form):

1. Future plans in geology: Hike around in the desert and mountains (ie, the American West) and come up with interesting theories as to why they are the way they are. Oh, and never work behind a desk unless it comes with a professor-ship at a neat school. And is made of some sort of dark wood. And it sits in a room full of books, geologic and otherwise. And I teach young, eager minds. Either or is fine by me. Otherwise I'm not going to work ever.


2. Why you want to pursue a Masters Degree(at this school): So that I can do the above, plus your school is located in a small town close to my home surrounded by sweet geology.

3. What specifically you would like to research: Structure...I like mountains.

4. Overall preparation to enter your chosen field: Probably not quite enough but brimming with enthusiasm!

5. Special interests: Being outside and good food...are we done yet?

Alas, tis not. And all the time I've wasted on the internet in the past hour or so probably would have been better spent phrasing the above in a very poetic, appealing, and much more serious way. Unfortunately, I lack productivity at the moment...

Once again, avoiding necessary engagements.

UPDATE: constantly being distracted by this blog . In part because I'm reading his book (Hurricanes: Their Nature and Impact on Society) for this paper, in fact, it's right in front of me. In part because his blog offers insightful (and interesting) commentary on the subject (hurricanes and warm[ing?] SSTs). In part because I'm always up for distractions. CHECK IT OUT!


Hello blogspot.


Guess who has to write a paper?

September 30, 2009

Evolution and thoughts about fall

How did we evolve to love? It's so god damn stupid. Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid.

Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating [slightly].

Last night I met a girl for the first time. She happened to be going through some boy troubles. Why? Why does it happen? I think it mostly boils down to lack of clarity in these situations. If everyone just said exactly how they felt, life would be better, I'm sure of it.

On that note, having troubles with some boy of my own. The problem is that none of it's tangible yet. But lately I'm just getting the vibe he's starting to care less and less. Maybe he's just busy, right? Maybe not....

Love is stupid, and it serves no evolutionary purpose and I just wish there was no such thing.




By the way, it's legitimately cold now. Fuck you, Boston, fuck you.

September 24, 2009

Maybe it's all just one big conspiracy by [once again, ladies and gents] insurance companies

I've been on a Grey's Anatomy kick recently. Rewatching the first season before going to bed at night is a guilty pleasure I'm not terribly ashamed of (should I be? That's up for discussion....).

Without any second thought, I blindly accepted that nearly every patient needs an MRI in order to be saved. I knew they were expensive, but thanks to my love of Grey's Anatomy I accepted them as a necessary truth. 

That is, until I read this article in Slate.com outlining the outragousness that is the MRI industry and doctors (and insurance companies) pushing for pricy procedures.

Once again, the insurance companies are controlling everyone...even through Grey's Anatomy.

September 23, 2009

Population Control

I recently had a conversation via email with my writing professor about a semester long research paper we have to write. Before I proceed, let me remind you that this is for the class, Advanced Writing in the Sciences. Let me also reiterate that this is a semester long project. That is, we should probably be researching something we're fairly interested in. Well, this is how it went:

Hello ******,
We spoke yesterday about my research topic for AWD-I would like to do it on CO2's correlation on hurricane frequency/intensity. I spoke to my adviser (who happens to be teaching Weather and Climate this semester) for help with narrowing down the topic. All he could come up with was to take the CO2 part out of the question, and talk about a warmer atmosphere and its effects on hurricanes instead. However, this seems to make the topic even more broad. So, I guess my question for you is this: would it be alright if I wrote my proposal for my original topic on Thursday, and talked to you about it after class to see if you have any suggestions? Then by Monday I'll hopefully have a better, more specific line of research. I guess I should have probably talked to you about this earlier (say, before initial research was due, ha), but any help you can give me will be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Kelly

Hi Kelley, your plan sounds fine. I should clarify: Co2 + hurricane freq is a fine general topic, but you should be prepared to focus on a more specific aspect of it. I.e. perhaps it's impact on lower income communities in the gulf and caribbean or it's relationship to certain political choices/controversies. The topic itself is ok, you just need to decide where within that topic you want to focus. I can talk more with you after class on Thursday but bring what you can to the peer review. Best, ****** 
Um, Professor, last I checked, this is writing for science majors. And last I checked, just because most kids in this class are bio-chem/behavioral neuroscience and/or pre-med, doesn't mean we all care about the fate of humanity.  Last I checked, I thought hurricanes were a great form of population control. Because last I checked, humans are ruining the earth without any sign of stopping or even slowing down. And last I checked, that's why I'M A FUCKING GEOLOGIST!!! 

I just want to write about science, pure and simple. I could give a flying fuck about third world coastal towns. If I did, I would currently be studying International Affairs, hosting events with Amnesty International and have a giant poster of that arrogant ass Bono above my wall in place of my rock collection.

Yes, I am probably a cold-hearted bitch, but it's true. We are animals, on par with the monkeys, dolphins and ants of this earth. But unlike every other living organism, we no longer have to compete (if you will) to survive. We surpassed that level long ago. It's all about the slash and burn method: uncontrolled and uninhibited. We have already proven to god knows who that we are the superior species. But that in no way gives us the right to abuse the planet we were fortunate enough to evolve on. Attention humans: if it weren't for the delicate balance of these precious ecosystems, we wouldn't have gotten this far! We wouldn't have grown to become the species we are today, which means we wouldn't know how to do what we do.

Now, I guess some could argue that we do in fact deserve to do with Earth what we please, we did after all compete to the top of the food chain. We won Darwin's game, right? Eh, probably not. Most likely we'll be our own ruin because the Earth stops performing the way we like. We'll keep moving to coastal towns and get knocked out by hurricanes. We'll insist that we need to clear away entire habitats to make room for houses and crops. All because there is nothing out there to keep us in check. Then we'll die. Probably slowly. Earth will run out of room. We'll fight to keep what we already "own", we'll go to war for food, and kill each other off. And Earth will bounce back. After all, we have only been here for .0000000001% of Earth's existence*. Why should we be able to live on it for much longer?

Which brings me back to my original point. Now why in the world I care about hurricanes' effects on humans?

Tommy thinks I'm just bitter because he spelled my name wrong.

*I don't actually know the number off the top of my head, I just know it's teeny tiny. Take a geologic history course if you're curious.

September 21, 2009

Let me make one thing VERY clear

This is a public blog. I shutter to think that I am now in fact a "blogger" by choice. I have made fun of everyone that has ever decided to blog about their lives (blogging about other stuff...say the media is completely different). But here I am. After bitching and moaning in my previous required blog, I have started a new one. And so far, I have updated it relatively frequently.

But let me make one the VERY clear:

I am not here to advertise my life. I know that it's public, but mostly because I'm always on the internet, and I'm more inclined to update a blog than a journal. Also, I guess there's a teeny tiny part of me that wants to see if anyone will ever actually read this. Welcome to being human during the peak of web 2.0, Kelly. But I will, by absolutely no means tell people to read my blog. So if you're reading this, congrats. You found me. And to everyone else who will never read this, good.

September 20, 2009

Paleotempestology:

The study of prehistoric storms from geological and biological evidence.

Who knew?

Rocks have been shaken

So I'm sitting in the library and I need to find two TWO!!!! resources to bring to class tomorrow. It's a research paper on hurricanes to make a long story short. Unfortunately, I have found way more than two. I am getting completely caught up in the whole "is climate change human caused or not" debate. Like HOLY SHIT PEOPLE!!! The president of the environmental club might be switching sides. Woah. Some convincing sites include:
-This video on debunking the IPCC report
-Some Phd's blog
-And this whole site in general

To top it all off, while researching, I discovered that a professor I'm considering working under is NEUTRAL about the anthropogenic thingy!

Anyways, I really should get back to my research. It's already been three hours and I haven't accomplished much.